Sam Donnellon

STAFF WRITER

Sam Donnellon is a Flyers beat writer for the Daily News and Inquirer. His career has spanned four decades and has taken him all over the world. Prior to joining the Daily News in 1992, he worked as a national writer for the short-lived but highly acclaimed National Sports Daily. He has received state and national awards at each stop and has been honored repeatedly by the Associated Press Sports Editors, the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Associated Press Managing Editors.

Most of what Shane Victorino has said about a beer being poured on him Wednesday night has been forgiving and refreshing. At first he jokingly commended the ``timing’’ of the throw, brushed it off as no big deal, laughed about it even.

But the Cubs and the city of Chicago? Not so much. Cubs front office personnel apologized personally to Victorino before Thursday’s matinee, Cubs manager Lou Piniella did after the game, and two Chicago cops took his statement after Wednesday’s 12-5 victory.

When Shane subsequently decided to file a complaint, his tone changed a bit too. He said, ``The guy should be held accountable’’, a sentiment slapped all over both Chicago newspapers Thursday.

That’s right. Even if Shane is just helping Chicago find the right guy and not all that outraged (as it seems), the hammer of the law needs to come down hard on these people, so it stops.

But this, uttered after he filed a civil complaint about the incident, was chilling, even if unintentionally so: ``If it happens on the streets, I don't think he'd be walking too far with something like that happening in the streets,’’ Shane said.

It was just less than three weeks ago that a spilled beer inside of McFadden’s Restaurant led to a fatal gang beating in a parking lot outside of Citizens Bank Park. No, it didn’t quite happen on the streets, but the ridiculous overreaction to the slight did, and it led to the death of a 22-year-old man, David Sale.

I’m sure the Phillies centerfielder wasn’t thinking about this when he made his comments yesterday. But he should be careful with his words. Pouring a beer on a centerfielder is unacceptable. So, too, is taking the law into your own hands.